


Sunbathed Daffodils

by tenshisama (chicken_nuggie)



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, chara study kinda, transgender hiyori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29479758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicken_nuggie/pseuds/tenshisama
Summary: Lush green and multicolored hues, even the most delicate blossoms could be as persistent as the tallest oak in the land.
Relationships: Ran Nagisa/Tomoe Hiyori
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Sunbathed Daffodils

**Author's Note:**

> A fic of my headcanon regarding the timeline of Hiyori's childhood to now, head's up for Faith Conquest spoilers in the ending if you haven't read the story, otherwise I hope you'll enjoy my take on Hiyori! <3 Him being trans isn't touched on as heavily in here as I would have normally done, but I didn't want to write a 30k essay on Hiyori when work really knocks me out some days, haha. I've touched on it more in RPs, I'll be honest, heh.  
> Listed as NagiHiyo due to the implied later relationship, really more than anything, but it's a very platonic sort of relationship this go around!

“Hiyori, come here, dear.” The voice was familiar-- his mother, surely-- and he was getting up from his spot in the small garden he looked after alongside one of the maids of the household. He quietly excused himself from the work he’d been doing before he turned up at the front of the house, seeing a beautiful child standing in front of his parents rather obediently. Their hair was long, and silver like the moon, but their eyes were red like sunsets. The long, billowing nightgown they were dressed in left him wondering where their clothes were.

“This is Nagisa, he’ll be staying with us until he’s able to move in with his new family. Take good care of him as a member of our family, alright~?” His mother’s voice was absolutely saccharine with her request, and Hiyori made his way forward, vivid violet hues looking deep into scarlet that seemed unphased by his curious staring.

“Even your eyelashes are a pretty white! I’m Hiyori, you can call me Hiyori-kun though! It’s nice to meet you, Nagisa-kun!” He held out his hand, and Nagisa stared at the hand for a few moments before tilting his head. “Mm, you grab it with your hand and shake it!” At this Nagisa looked at his own hand a moment before reaching out to grab Hiyori’s, though he gave it a very tentative shake. This was enough to make Hiyori smile and laugh, then using the grip he had now to drag Nagisa away, as it seemed his parents had to take care of things with his older brother.

“Wh… Where…?” When Nagisa spoke, Hiyori was surprised, but moreso by how soft and almost empty his voice sounded. He even sounded unsure of the word that left his lips, only staring with those large scarlet hues for answers. They felt as though they were trying to burn holes through his skin to read his heart and he wondered how much they could really see beyond the surface. A laugh left him, however, as he was left with a task. He would help take care of this boy the way he wished he was taken care of. Perhaps in a way, he was getting to play as an older brother! Though, his own was just good enough, so perhaps a mother? He would like a new mother or father, actually…

“To my bedroom! You need clothes to wear! You can’t just go everywhere in your nightgown, silly!” Smiling brightly, the answer feeling sufficient, he continued to drag Nagisa along to his bedroom, then opening the door with his free hand before dragging him inside to then shut the door behind him. Finally freeing Nagisa’s hand, he went to his wardrobe to unlatch it, then opening the door to an array of several of the same, simple outfits he could wear day in and day out, though the rest at the end were multiple formal gowns… He tried his best to hide them behind his form though, trying to avoid Nagisa asking questions. Though, Nagisa seemed unbothered, simply staring at Hiyori and the wardrobe with his head tilted.

“...?” For a moment, his mouth had moved to form words, trying to find the sound to form the question he had, but nothing came to his lips. Instead, he just closed his mouth again, tilting his head to try and convey his curiosity. At this, Hiyori tilted his head in return, finding it odd that Nagisa was so… quiet. Oh well, he’d be sure to fix that, and if Nagisa had tutors that were set up for later, then he could help that too! He’d find any way he could to help, now that he was given some purpose for the time being. It was better than spending all his free time in the garden with the maid who spoke in an odd dialect sometimes.

“Lemme get you something to wear, Asahi-kun gives me lots of his hand me downs so I don’t have to wear dresses! But, don’t ask why I wear dresses sometimes, okay? I really hate it alot!” He nodded, huffing and moving to grab one of his outfits he’d received from his older brother, then holding it up to compare to Nagisa’s form before nodding. “Mm! Looks like a good fit, hehe~ I guess you’re probably around my age, huh? Do you know how old you are?” With the question, he was surprised to see Nagisa shake his head in a “No.”

“F… Father… knows…” The words were somewhat stilted, causing Hiyori to tilt his head again, though he simply blinked a few times. Nagisa had a father? Then why was he here? Why was he waiting to move in with a new family? Odd, very odd circumstances. He wished his mother would have told him more, only Asahi ever explained things to him when he wanted answers.

“Well, I like to think you might be my age, and I’m eight!” Smiling wide, he was rather proud of himself when announcing his age, humming and thinking on it. “I wonder how long you’ll stay with us then if you have a father, maybe he’s gotta go away for a long time?” Nagisa shook his head at this though, visibly looking a bit… sadder. Hiyori blinked, picking up on it fairly easily. He could only think of when he felt sad, when he tucked it away to make his family not worry about him. After all, his brother was the heir, his needs were primary over his own.

“Hey, let’s get you dressed okay? I hope you know how to put on clothes at least!” When he received yet another shake of Nagisa’s head, he was genuinely shocked. “You don’t know how to put on clothes?! Hmm… Okay! I’ll show you how then!” Nagisa nodded with this and Hiyori moved his way over to his bed, setting the outfit he picked for Nagisa on the bed. “Can you take off your nightgown at least?” With that, Nagisa nodded for a moment, taking a moment to try and pull it up over his head, and for a moment Hiyori was embarrassed, but he was glad to know Nagisa at least had underwear on.

Though, it seemed the poor boy was stuck in the top part of the nightgown, causing him to stop and wait patiently, as though it would magically come undone and pop off his head. Hiyori stared for a moment, finding it hard to believe someone could be this  _ silly _ when it came to something simple as taking a nightgown off. Even his older brother wasn’t this spoiled! Sighing, he moved over, and pulled the nightgown down in the back to undo the two buttons that kept it secure in the back before letting Nagisa pull it the rest of the way off. “See? Easy when you get the buttons undone!”

“Ea… sy…” He mumbled softly, repeating Hiyori’s words with a nod. Hiyori smiled at this, humming and handing him the pants first. Nagisa took hold of them, looking at them a moment before looking to Hiyori. What? Did he not wear pants normally? What a weird kid! Sighing, Hiyori made a motion with them, putting his leg through one side of invisible pants, then a leg through the other and pulling them up. As Nagisa watched, he took a moment to mimic him, though he had them on backwards at first, causing Hiyori to sigh again.

“Not like that! Go ahead and take them off and turn them around, they’re backwards!” Waiting patiently, he watched Nagisa take them off, then stare at them rather confused, not entirely understanding how they could be backwards. After a moment, he pointed at the button and zipper on his own pants in some hopes it explained. With this, Nagisa blinked and then looked at the pants in his own hands, staring before realizing what Hiyori was trying to demonstrate. Turning them around, he then mimicked Hiyori again to better results.

“There you go! Now, do you know how to keep them on? You gotta button and zip them!” Nagisa was, again, unsure what Hiyori was explaining, staring at the blond with some amount of confusion. At this point, Hiyori wasn’t even remotely surprised. This kid sure was spoiled before coming here, and he thought his brother was spoiled rotten! Undoing his own button and zipper, he showed Nagisa what he meant, then waiting for Nagisa to imitate him once more. After a moment of slight struggling, Nagisa managed to imitate him and Hiyori seemed satisfied.

“Okay, now the shirt! You got a lot of hair, so let me help you with it real quick!” Moving to his vanity, he picked up a hair brush and a ribbon, humming and going back to Nagisa to then undo the loose ponytail in it and pull it into a high bun of sorts. When satisfied, he nodded, then setting the brush aside and handing Nagisa the shirt. “Make sure you put this hand through this hole, but this hand through this one, okay?” He made sure to explain it a bit more thoroughly this time, finding Nagisa wasn’t entirely dumb, he just didn’t know some stuff is all!

As Nagisa nodded, he followed the instructions with ease, though as he noticed his shirt wasn’t together like Hiyori’s, it seemed to perplex him. Though, before Hiyori could explain he needed to button it, it seemed he had put two and two together, figuring out he had to button the shirt to match. Unfortunately, he missed a few, causing it to be a bit wrinkled and mismatched the first time. “...?” Looking confused by this, Hiyori laughed softly, much to Nagisa’s further confusion.

“It’s okay! You just missed some! Here, let me help you.” He undid all the buttons, then doing them up one by one, carefully showing Nagisa that he simply missed one here or there, hence why it was uneven. Once it was all even, Nagisa smiled the slightest, and Hiyori felt his heart twist all funny. Instead of wrinkling his nose at it, getting upset he couldn’t understand it, he laughed and smiled in turn, grabbing the hair brush to return Nagisa’s hair to that simple, loose ponytail.

“Hey, let’s go to the garden! You probably don’t have to do any stuff til tomorrow anyway!” At this, Nagisa looked curious again, and Hiyori was about to drag him out before realizing he was barefoot! How could he have missed something like that? Looking around, he hummed and found a pair of socks in his wardrobe. “I’ll just put this on for you this time, but I promise socks are super easy!” Nodding, he motioned for Nagisa to sit on a stool in the room, to which Nagisa followed the motion easily, even readily lifting a leg. Well, at least he knew what he was doing this time?

Once Nagisa’s feet were no longer bare, he dragged him off to the garden entrance, getting him to put on a pair of the shoes there for them to step into the garden with. Stepping out, Nagisa looked incredibly fascinated with the large displays of flowers, already looking at things and tugging at Hiyori so he could go and look closer. Of course, Hiyori was quick to indulge him, smiling quite proudly, as he was incredibly proud of the family garden. After all, these flowers kept him company when much of the house didn’t, whether due to work or other things occupying their time.

The entertainment of a young noble wasn’t the primary concern of anyone maintaining a large mansion and a family fortune, after all.

For a moment, Hiyori’s thoughts escaped him, some sadness creeping in, but before clouds could fill his head, Nagisa was pointing at a flower, looking at Hiyori for information. At this, he blinked, staring and then looking to Nagisa. “Oh, this is a rose! Isn’t it pretty? It comes in lots of colors too! We have red ones, white ones, purple ones…” He wanted to go on, but then Nagisa was pointing to another flower and Hiyori was more than glad to explain what it was as well.

They spent what felt like hours just walking around the garden, Hiyori explaining each flower Nagisa pointed out until Nagisa was soon pointing them out and repeating what Hiyori called them, only for Hiyori to compliment him for remembering each one. Eventually a maid had called for them to return inside for dinner, and Hiyori grabbed Nagisa’s hand to lead him back inside, though Nagisa was the slightest bit upset at having to leave the garden, it seemed. Once they were out of the garden shoes, he showed Nagisa the way to the washroom, showing him how to wash his hands and clean his face before they made their way to the dining hall.

Once arriving, his mother, father, and older brother were already seated, and he took a seat next to Asahi while leaving a spot for Nagisa. Though, Nagisa looked absolutely fascinated with how big the dining table was as the kitchen staff brought the food out on carts that rattled softly with the dishes contained within.

“We apologize for the delay in the dinner this evening, Nagisa… We had to be sure and check that there was nothing that would harm you if you ingested it.” Hiyori’s mother was speaking, still in a voice so sugary he knew she was putting on airs. What was such a big deal putting on a face for Nagisa? Was his old dad really that big of a deal? Nagisa simply nodded though, still looking at the silverware and everything with great fascination. Had he never seen things like that before? Hiyori did wonder…

Dinner went over fairly easily, though. Nagisa was a bit shaky with the utensils, almost as though the silverware was too weighty for his fragile hands. It made Hiyori almost reach out and help, but he refrained in front of his brother and parents. There was talk of him meeting another potential fiance to consider, though he knew he’d throw the entire thing. He never liked any of the candidates brought to him, no matter how much his parents wanted to make him useful, trying to dig their claws into another family to expand their fortune in ways aside from Asahi’s future.

It wasn’t until Nagisa was learning how to read, learning how to speak, that he finally spoke up to Hiyori about it. Though, it had been almost five years since he’d begun learning.

“Why… do you… n-not… want to marry…?” The question arose while they were sitting together in the garden under a small tree. A few butterflies fluttered by, and both of the young boys watched them as Hiyori thought on the question. Sitting there, holding Nagisa’s hand, though not holding tight enough Nagisa couldn’t leave on his own. When he thought he had an answer, he opened his mouth, but then closed it before he hummed.

“I’m not a girl, so… I don’t wanna be someone’s wife. It feels wrong, it doesn’t make me happy… It’s like when the sun is hiding in the sky behind the clouds, it gets cold… gloomy…” He looked down at Nagisa’s hand before looking back up to him. “Do you think I make a good boy, Nagisa-kun?” With that question, Nagisa tilted his head, and though his expression only shifted as hair, the slight quirk of lips into a smile, his words spoke leagues for him.

“Mm, you… y-you are. A… very good boy…” At this, Hiyori let out a squeal and threw his arms around him, hugging him tight. “M-Mh…” Nagisa tried to think of how to convey he quite liked this feeling, the arms holding him tight, Hiyori’s face in his neck… He felt an odd twist in his chest, and simply squeezed Hiyori tighter in the hug.

“Mm… Nagisa, promise me something, won’t you? Promise me… that no matter what, you’ll always be with me, okay? No matter if we get separated, we’ll still wind up together, okay?” As Hiyori pulled away to see this, Nagisa was confused to see tears sliding down the blond’s cheeks. What was Hiyori crying for? Was he hurt? Did he hug too tight? Reaching up after getting a handkerchief from his pocket, he only nodded, wiping away Hiyori’s tears carefully, the same as Hiyori did when he’d fall and skid his knee if they were rough housing a bit too much.

“I… promise. Always… with Hiyori… M-My sun…” The words cut through Hiyori like a knife, his heart swelled as if it were going to pop, he could hardly understand it, but god he wanted to hold onto Nagisa for dear life. The words were so warm, full of so much he was so unfamiliar with. It only reminded him of the ways Nagisa would praise him, telling him how much better he would get even if Nagisa couldn’t find the words for it.

It had steadily become a relationship where they were lifting one another up in their own ways, Hiyori had begun gifting small rocks he would go out of his way to dig up and polish for Nagisa. In return, Nagisa would find the prettiest flowers he could, and carefully try to pluck it without doing too much damage. Through the gifts of flowers and stones, they’d grown closer, fonder of one another. Through these gifts, Hiyori found himself forgetting how lonely he’d been, before Nagisa had arrived.

He no longer performed to an audience of hundreds of strangers for recitals, Nagisa was always there behind the curtain, waiting to praise him with a small bouquet when he’d finish. No longer did he eat dinner alone when his brother had matters to attend to with his parents, as Nagisa always accompanied him when they ate dinner. Even classes with his tutors had grown easier to handle, working with Nagisa and being praised by him and praising him in turn…

Little did he know how important Nagisa would be to him not all too later in their lives. Eventually Nagisa was bound to being moved into the new family’s home, and of course… He hugged Hiyori with all the strength he could muster, Hiyori returning it tenfold. It was the first time the blond watched his beloved crying for a reason out of their control. They linked pinkies and nodded, before Nagisa was towed away in the back of the new family’s car. Hiyori waved with a sniffle before a sob clawed its way from his throat. They had to meet again, surely, he didn’t doubt it in the slightest.

“Nagisa-kun… Meet me again, when we’re older. Let’s become so shining and brilliant that all the sadness we’ve endured washes away and we’re reborn into the happiness we deserve…” These words, scrawled in his journal before entering Yumenosaki, were words he would find he couldn’t regret. The amount of pain he and Nagisa would endure in Yumenosaki, the amount of stress it put on Hiyori’s mental health to keep a facade so thick skinned as it was…

“...I will not release your trembling fingertips, that is my response.” The grip on his hand as he forced a smile, speaking and rambling to hide how much he wanted to crumble, how that final battle was not what he’d dreamed for them. He never wanted them to cast such bloodshed, hand in hand… Humans were truly meant to be carnal creatures, even when they fought to avoid it, hm? Before he could allow himself to break into the tears on the tip of his mind, a snake’s vehicle rolled up, coming to a nigh screeching stop not far from them.

Instinctively grabbing onto Nagisa, Hiyori looked on as a red haired young man rolled the window down and leaned out of the black, shiny vehicle. He could feel Nagisa tense up under his fingers. Did… Nagisa know him? He was tired though, he only wished to head home… A business card, a proposal… Nagisa’s comment made him want something warm, and they were soon walking together, meeting with escorts before they were taken home to their respective houses.

He never would have thought that such things would lead to where he was today, to see that same boy he helped raise ask him how he should go about pretending to be a villain. How they would plot out using the new managers’ idea for Eden to “in-fight” for views against them. It hurt him, villainizing Nagisa, but… Well, Jun and Ibara didn’t know him quite as well as Nagisa did. They didn’t know how he despised conflict for a reason. He was so, agonizingly  _ terrified _ of being alone again. Conflict implied a loss of everything he’d worked for with that person, did it not?

So, of course… it hurt to do, but that was part of why he chose to be so bratty during. How it was so easy to get wrapped up in the heat of it. He felt at least a fraction bad for Jun, dragging him by the neck almost literally… and there was a part of him that was guilty for making Ibara panic, but… Well, it had all worked out, had it not? He wanted to continue playing in paradise with the three of them. He didn’t want to let go of the flowers he’d grown so used to accompanying now.

The old maid’s words echoed in his mind, reminding him that there were many flowers that no matter what they went through, no matter the conditions… They would still bloom, even in the bleakest of environments. He hoped that he reflected those words, that he and the rest of his beloved flowers would continue to bloom and flourish despite what the world threw at them.

Without them, he wasn’t sure where he would be, in that moment.


End file.
